The Great Plague of London
It was considered safe to return to London and Mary and her family returned to the city.

1666 (4th July)

Mary’s brother, Charles, was born to James Duke of York and Anne Hyde at St James’s Palace.

1666 (2nd September)

Great Fire of London
A fire broke out at a bakers in Pudding Lane. It destroyed more than 13,000 houses and 87 churches including St Paul’s Cathedral. Mary’s father, James, was put in charge of the firefighting operation.

1667 (22nd May)

Mary’s brother, Charles died at St James’s Palace.

1667 (20th June)

Mary’s brother, James died at Richmond Palace.

1667 (14th September)

Mary’s brother, Edgar, was born to James Duke of York and Anne Hyde at St James’s Palace, London.

1668 (around)

Mary’s father, James, converted to Catholicism; Mary’s mother had converted eight years earlier. His conversion was kept secret and James continued to attend the Anglican church. At King Charles’s order Mary and her sister Anne were raised as Protestants.

1668 (around)

Mary and her sister Anne were raised at Richmond Palace by Lady Frances Villiers who was appointed their governess. Mary was educated by private tutors and studied music, dance, drawing, French and religion.

1669 (13th January)

Mary’s sister, Henrietta, was born to James Duke of York and Anne Hyde at St James’s Palace, London.

1669 (15th November)

Mary’s sister, Henrietta, died at St James’s Palace.

1671 (9th February)

Mary’s sister, Katherine, was born to James Duke of York and Anne Hyde at St James’s Palace, London.

1671 (31st March)

Mary’s mother, Anne Hyde, died at St James’s Palace, London from breast cancer.

1671 (8th June)

Mary’s brother, Edgar, died at Richmond Palace.

1671 (5th December)

Mary’s sister, Katherine, died at St James’s Palace, London.

1673 (during)

Test Act
This act stated that anyone in public office had to swear an oath of allegiance and could not be a Catholic.

1673 (during)

Mary’s father, James, resigned his post as Lord High Admiral rather than take the Test Act. This move made clear that he had converted to Catholicism.

1673 (20th September)

Mary’s father, James, married Italian Mary of Modena by proxy in a Roman Catholic ceremony. Mary’s new step-mother was just four years older than her.

1673 (21st November)

Mary of Modena arrived in England. An anglican service was held to recognise the proxy marriage.

1677 (during)

There was growing concern over the succession since King Charles II had no legitimate children. Heir to the throne was Mary’s father, James, who had converted to Catholicism. In a bid to persuade people that the royal family were not Catholic, Charles insisted that Mary be married to her cousin William of Orange. When Mary heard the news she burst into tears.

1677 (4th November)

Mary married William of Orange at St James’s Palace in London.

1677 (late November)

Mary and William set sail for the Netherlands.

1677 (14th December)

Mary and William made formal entry to The Hague and processed through the streets.

1678 (during)

Popish Plot
Titus Oates claimed that there was a plot to assassinate Charles and replace him with his brother James who had converted to Catholicism. The rumour sparked a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria and supposed conspirators were executed.

1678 (April)

Mary suffered a miscarriage at Breda, Netherlands.

1678 (September)

Mary suffered a second miscarriage at Hanserlaersdyck, Netherlands.

1679 (March)

Mary’s father, James, was ordered by King Charles II to leave England and go to Brussels. It was felt James was better out of England until the furore regarding the Popish Plot had blown over.

1679 (15th May)

Exclusion Crisis
A group of MPs introduced an Exclusion Bill into parliament in a bid to exclude Mary’s father, James, from the succession. Some supporters of the bill felt that Charles’s eldest illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, should succeed to the throne. Rather than allowing the bill to pass, Charles dissolved parliament.

1679 (Summer)

Exclusion Crisis
Parliament, when recalled, continued to be divided over the succession of Mary’s father. Those that supported the Exclusion Bill were known as Petitioners (later to become the Whigs) while those that opposed the bill were called Abhorrers (later to become the Tories).

1680 (February)

Mary suffered a third miscarriage at The Hague, Netherlands.

1681 (March)

Parliament met at Oxford. Once again the question of succession and the Exclusion Bill was brought up. Charles learned of this and dissolved parliament.

Mary’s father, James, returned to England and became a member of the Privy Council.

1684 (May)

James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, spent time in the court of William and Mary in the Netherlands.

1685 (6th February)

King Charles II died and Mary’s father became King James II of England, Ireland and Wales and James VII of Scotland. Her father’s accession to the throne made Mary heir to the British throne.

1685 (23rd April)

Mary’s father, James, and his wife, Mary of Modena, were crowned King and Queen at Westminster Abbey.

1685 (May)

The Monmouth Rebellion
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, who was resident at the court of William and Mary, planned a rebellion against the rule of King James II. When he learned of the plot, Mary’s husband, William sent a message to his father-in-law warning him of the plot. Monmouth’s Rebellion was put down and he was executed.

1685 (late)

Mary’s father, King James decided to enlarge his standing army to give himself increased protection. He alarmed Parliament by allowing Catholics to command regiments blatantly flouting the Test Act and Parliament protested to the King. In response he prorogued Parliament.

1686 (during)

Mary’s father, King James, appointed Catholics to many of the highest roles in the Scotland and England, a move that upset many of his Anglican supporters.

1687 (Autumn)

Having put in place measures to give more freedom to Catholics, Mary’s father was determined to gain a repeal of the Test Act. He decided to place his supporters in positions of power and in parliament. Where those in office opposed him he removed them and appointed favourable replacements.

1688 (10th June)

A healthy son, James Francis Edward, was born to Kig James and Mary of Modena at St James’s Palace, London.

1688 (mid June)

The birth of James’s son secured the succession but also meant that there was a very strong likelihood that Catholicism would return to Britain.

1688 (30th June)

Glorious Revolution
Seven Protestant nobles, Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Danby, Viscount Lumley, Bishop of London, Edward Russell and Henry Sydney, wrote to Mary’s husband, William III, and asked him to join them in making Mary heir to the throne in place of the newborn prince. William was told that if he landed in England with a small army he would find that he had much support.

1688 (5th November)

Glorious Revolution
Mary remained in the Netherlands when her husband, William of Orange, landed at Brixham in Devon. After the army and navy defected to William, King James decided not to march to meet him and attempted to leave the country but was captured.

1688 (12th December)

Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, summoned a provisional government.

1688 (23rd December)

William of Orange allowed James to escape to France. He went to the court of Louis XIV where he was given a palace and a pension.

1689 (22nd January)

Parliament met to discuss the constitutional situation. Most Tories wanted either James II restored or James’s daughter, William’s wife to be crowned Queen. While most Whigs wanted a limited Protestant monarchy.

1689 (February)

Mary left the Netherlands and joined William in England.

1689 (13th February)

Parliament agreed that since James had fled abroad he was deemed to have abdicated. Mary and her sister Anne refused to rule over Mary’s husband William so it was agreed that William and Mary should jointly take the throne as William III and Mary II.

1689 (March)

Mary’s father, James, landed in Ireland at the head of a French force determined to regain the crown. The Irish government declared that James remained King. James’s supporters were known as Jacobites.

1689 (11th April)

Mary and her husband William of Orange were jointly crowned Queen Mary II and King William III at Westminster Abbey.

1689 (12th April)

Mary and her husband William of Orange were proclaimed King and Queen of Scotland.

1689 (Spring)

Although Mary and William had been proclaimed Queen and King of Scotland, there were many Scots, especially those in the Highlands, that believed that James was still the rightful King. Viscount Dundee, a Jacobite, raised an army against the new monarchs.

1689 (11th May)

Mary and William took the Scottish coronation oath in London.

1689 (18th May)

In Scotland, Viscount Dundee marched to try to engage King William’s commander, Hugh Mackay. He was unable to provoke a battle and many of his men went home.

Battle of Killiecrankie
This battle, between the Jacobites and Scottish government army. Although Dundee was killed and Jacobite losses were large, the Jacobites won the battle. However, those that survived were unable to mount further resistance to the rule of William and Mary.

1689 (16th December)

Bill of Rights
The English parliament drew up this bill which stated basic civil rights and settled the succession. It also stated that no Roman Catholic could take the throne nor could an English monarch marry a Roman Catholic. It also confirmed the succession on firstly the surviving monarch, then any children of William and Mary followed by Mary’s sister, Anne and her descendants.

1690 (Spring)

William went to Ireland to put down the Jacobite rebellion there. While he was absent, Mary took over the reins of government.

1690 (24th June)

Mary ordered the arrest of her uncle Henry Hyde for plotting to restore James II to the throne.

1690 (1st July)

Battle of the Boyne
The forces of William III secured a decisive victory over those of James II. James managed to escape the battlefield and fled to France.

1690 (late Summer)

In France, James took up residence in the chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with his wife and some of his loyal supporters.

1692 (January)

Mary dismissed John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough for plotting with the Jacobites. This move angered Mary’s sister, Anne who was very friendly with Churchill’s wife, Sarah and created a rift between the sisters.

1692 (April)

Mary was taken ill with a fever.

1694 (December)

Mary was taken ill with smallpox.

1694 (28th December)

Mary II, died of smallpox. Her husband succeeded as sole monarch of Britain.